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Purdue Pharma To Pay $7B+ In Historic Opioid Settlement: 'A Symbol Of Greed' Purdue Pharma To Pay $7B+ In Historic Opioid Settlement: 'A Symbol Of Greed'
Purdue Pharma To Pay $7B+ In Historic Opioid Settlement: 'A Symbol Of Greed' Purdue Pharma will pay more than $7 billion for the corporation's role in fueling the opioid epidemic that has killed hundreds of thousands of Americans. The Sackler family and Purdue Pharma reached a $7.4 billion settlement with attorneys general from 15 states on Thursday, Jan. 23. The Sacklers have owned the company headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, for decades. The settlement includes $6.5 billion from the Sackler family, with $1.5 billion to be paid immediately, and nearly $900 million from Purdue Pharma. Funds will be distributed to states, local governments, and victims ov…

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by Chris Spiker
Business
Walgreens Knowingly Filled Millions Of Prescriptions Lacking Legit Medical Purpose, DOJ Says Walgreens Knowingly Filled Millions Of Prescriptions Lacking Legit Medical Purpose, DOJ Says
Walgreens Knowingly Filled Millions Of Prescriptions Lacking Legit Medical Purpose, DOJ Says The Justice Department has filed a nationwide lawsuit against Walgreens, alleging the pharmacy chain filled millions of prescriptions without legitimate medical purposes, particularly involving dangerous opioid combinations, over more than a decade. Filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the civil complaint contends Walgreens violated the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and False Claims Act (FCA) by dispensing prescriptions despite clear red flags and seeking federal reimbursements for these drugs. “This lawsuit seeks to hold Walgreens accountable for the many…

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by Joe Lombardi
Police & Fire
GONE IN 120 SECONDS: Burglars Smash Way Into Glen Rock Pharmacy, Snatch Oxy, Sedatives GONE IN 120 SECONDS: Burglars Smash Way Into Glen Rock Pharmacy, Snatch Oxy, Sedatives
Gone IN 120 Seconds: Burglars Smash Way Into Glen Rock Pharmacy, Snatch Oxy, Sedatives Two burglars smashed their way into a Glen Rock drug store overnight and stole oxycodone and Promethazine, authorities said. The pair were wearing hoodies to conceal their faces when they shattered the glass back door of the Rock Ridge Pharmacy in the central business district at 3:10 a.m. last Tuesday, March 26, Glen Rock Police Chief Dean Ackermann said. They were in and out in two minutes, the chief said. The burglars “ransacked the pharmacist’s work area, forcing open locked drawers, gaining access to and removing narcotics,” Ackermann said. The incident was another in a series of bur…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Neighboring PDs Combine To Nab Fleeing NYC Trio After Brazen Marshalls Heist Neighboring PDs Combine To Nab Fleeing NYC Trio After Brazen Marshalls Heist
Neighboring PDs Combine To Nab Fleeing NYC Trio After Brazen Marshalls Heist Local police in northwest Bergen County who’ve teamed up to fight area crime nabbed a brazen shoplifting crew from New York City moments after they hit a local Marshalls. Wyckoff police issued an alert after witnesses reported seeing a man and two women flee the Boulder Run shopping center off Franklin Avenue in a red 2018 Jeep. The thieves had just pushed shopping carts stuffed with more than $1,000 worth of clothing, toys and fragrances out the door to the vehicle, Wyckoff Police Lt. Joseph Soto said. Franklin Lakes police stopped the Jeep near the border of both towns off the corner of …

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
TRAGIC TOP 10: Fentanyl Deaths In NY, NJ, PA, MD Among Highest In Nation, Study Finds TRAGIC TOP 10: Fentanyl Deaths In NY, NJ, PA, MD Among Highest In Nation, Study Finds
Tragic TOP 10: Fentanyl Deaths In NY, NJ, PA, MD Among Highest In Nation, Study Finds New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland were among the 10 states with the most fentanyl deaths last year, a recent study found. All four were also among the states with the most deaths caused by the synthetic opioid since 2015, the non-profit Families Against Fentanyl found. The results led a former chief medical officer of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to urge Washington to "attack fentanyl overdoses with the same vigor and approaches as we do the coronavirus." Bipartisan leaders including former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and former CIA Directo…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Major Allentown Drug Bust Nets $567K Worth Of Fentanyl, Cocaine, Meth, Firearms: AG Major Allentown Drug Bust Nets $567K Worth Of Fentanyl, Cocaine, Meth, Firearms: AG
Major Allentown Drug Bust Nets $567K Worth Of Fentanyl, Cocaine, Meth, Firearms: AG An Allentown man was arrested Thursday after a search of his home and a separate location turned up $567,000 worth of fentanyl, cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, crystal methamphetamine, and two firearms, authorities said. Harold Bauza has been charged with drug possession with intent to deliver, dealing in unlawful proceeds and prohibited possession of a gun, Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Friday. Bauza was on state parole at the time of his arrest for prior felony drug and weapons convictions, making him ineligible to purchase firearms. As a part of an ongoing drug investigatio…

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by Nicole Acosta
News
Opioids Drive Highest Number Of OD Deaths Ever In US, While NJ Holds Steady, CDC Reports Opioids Drive Highest Number Of OD Deaths Ever In US, While NJ Holds Steady, CDC Reports
Opioids Drive Highest Number Of OD Deaths Ever In US, While NJ Holds Steady, CDC Reports Call it a statistical oddity: Despite an historic spike in drug overdose deaths across the United States last year, the total reported for New Jersey ticked up barely 1% over 2019 – compared with an increase of more than 32% in New York, over 17% in Pennsylvania and more than 10% in Connecticut, the CDC reported. More than 93,000 people across the country died from drug overdoses amid last year’s COVID-19 pandemic, according to the CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. That total represented a 29.4% increase from the 72,151 deaths projected nationwide for 2019, according to an annual…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Senate Approves Bill Aimed At Preventing OD Deaths NJ Senate Approves Bill Aimed At Preventing OD Deaths
NJ Senate Approves Bill Aimed At Preventing OD Deaths The New Jersey Senate on Thursday approved a proposed law that would require doctors to prescribe Narcan when writing opioid pain management prescriptions for high-risk patients. At least seven states now require co-prescribing Narcan (naloxone) with opioids: Arizona, Florida, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington. Laws in California and Ohio require prescribers to offer naloxone co-prescriptions in certain circumstances. “It can make a difference in New Jersey, as well,” said state Sen. Anthony M. Bucco, R-Boonton, a co-sponsor of the measure, which had bi-partisan su…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Police: Smallest Little Whorehouse In Paterson Raided Police: Smallest Little Whorehouse In Paterson Raided
Police: Smallest Little Whorehouse In Paterson Raided At street level it was a typical inner-city storefront, with a ground-floor business that offered travel, tax and mortgage services. But upstairs, Paterson police said, people were selling sex. Responding to complaints from merchants and residents, ABC/Vice Unit members raided the second-floor Main Street apartment, where they said men came and went all hours of the day and night. Two accused hookers were arrested along with an alleged manager. More than $900 in suspected proceeds was seized. Police said they also found a bag of coke and jar of pot. Charged with promoting prostitution and …

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Self-Described ‘El Chapo Of Opioids' Doctor From Oakland Indicted Again, This Time By The Feds Self-Described ‘El Chapo Of Opioids' Doctor From Oakland Indicted Again, This Time By The Feds
Self-Described ‘El Chapo Of Opioids' Doctor From Oakland Indicted Again, This Time By The Feds An Oakland physician who already pleaded guilty to state insurance fraud charges has been indicted on federal counts of prescribing opioids without a legitimate medical reason and doctoring records to cover it up. FBI agents in May arrested Robert Delagente -- who they said called himself the “Candy Man” and the “El Chapo of Opioids” – during raids at two of his offices in Oakland. Federal authorities began investigating Delagente, 45, after two former employees accused him of firing them because they didn’t want to participate in his schemes. Delagente routinely prescribed oxycodone, Perc…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
FBI: Self-Described 'Candy Man,' 'El Chapo Of Opioids' Doctor From Oakland Busted FBI: Self-Described 'Candy Man,' 'El Chapo Of Opioids' Doctor From Oakland Busted
FBI: Self-Described 'Candy Man,' 'El Chapo Of Opioids' Doctor From Oakland Busted An Oakland doctor who authorities said called himself the “Candy Man” and the “El Chapo of Opioids” was arrested by the FBI and charged with prescribing oxycodone, Percocet and other pain medication without a legitimate medical reason -- and cooking the books to cover it up. FBI agents Monday morning raided the offices of Robert Delagente, 45, at North Jersey Family Medicine (NJFM) and High Mountain Health in Oakland, telling arriving patients to call back to make an appointment. Federal authorities began investigating Delagente after two former employees accused them of firing them because…

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by Jerry DeMarco